Entangled
by essenni
Summary: Hugo has found evidence that Scorpius has committed a crime. Scorpius accuses Hugo of doing it just to hurt Draco. Rose is the one Draco turns to for help. Why would Rose help the man who has devastated her life? Only Hermione knows what is going on.
1. A Monster

**1. ****A Monster**

"Crucio!"

Powerful red sparks flew from the tip of a wand and the curse knocked over a blonde man together with the chair on which he had been sitting. Scorpius Malfoy fell onto the damp floor and screamed in pain as the curse shot though his body, tearing his organs, freezing the blood in the veins, setting his head on fire, and making him unable to draw a breath. His spine twisted as if trying to break and end his life together with his suffering. He could not control his arms and legs, which repeatedly hit the floor. His neck turned at a weird angle enabling him to look into the eyes of the one pointing the wand at him. Time seemed to stop, and he had to twitch for an eternity in pain, unable to close his eyelids, forced to watch as his torturer's lips curled into a cruel smile.

The other pale blonde man lifted the curse and lowered his wand. It was enough for the first time; a sufficient amount of pain to make Scorpius reconsider his choice to lie. Being only twenty, Hugo Weasley was the youngest in the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol; nevertheless, he had already gained enough experience in making criminals reveal their secrets. This was a hard case. He had questioned Scorpius Malfoy for three hours and it did not yield any results. Veritaserum was not working, so he had to take more desperate measures.

Hugo waited for Scorpius to stop trembling and get up from the floor. "I want to hear the truth," Hugo said, emphasizing the last word.

"I already told you the truth under Veritaserum! You cannot do this to me! You cannot use the Unforgivable Curses! You will go to Azkaban when my father finds out about this!" Scorpius yelled in rage. He had clenched his fists and his arms were very tense, ready to strike if he lost control.

The Malfoys were known to be a hard job. They had even managed to come out of the war clean and avoid Azkaban. At those times laws were very gentle and easily manipulated. This was no longer the case. Hugo had worked hard on catching the Malfoys. Even though he had not expected the youngest one to break the law, it was better to teach him a lesson before he got deeper into the Dark Arts like his relatives had.

"Draco Malfoy personally helped me to push the law allowing any means, even the Unforgivable Curses, for getting the truth out of criminals." Hugo clarified and smirked, noticing the confused look on Scorpius's face.

"He would not do such thing." Scorpius shook his head slightly which was throbbing with pain. He could not think very clearly, but he knew that there was no reason for his father to do something like that.

"Nevertheless, he did," Hugo stated firmly. "I do not want to waste time on this conversation. You can ask him yourself, why he helped me, when he visits you in Azkaban," Hugo told him calmly. He wanted to get back to the main topic. He had already wasted too much time on Scorpius.

"Azkaban?" Scorpius asked in a husky voice and his eyes suddenly changed to wide blue orbs, which fully expressed his horror.

"Yes, criminals go to Azkaban, nowadays even if they are the Malfoys." Hugo cocked an eyebrow, realising that Scorpius had not understood how serious his crime was. Nevertheless, it was not surprising. The Malfoys were not used to take responsibility for their actions. "I suppose that your grandfather has told you stories about the lovely time he had spent there."

* * *

_Scorpius__ had just got home for his first Christmas holiday at Hogwarts. He quickly shook the snow off his coat and ran to the east wing of the Malfoy Manor, ignoring the confused looks on his parents' faces. They had already noticed that something troubled the eleven year old boy. He was uncharacteristically silent since he had got off the Hogwarts Express. Scorpius ran through the hallways covered in magnificent carpets, taking as long steps as his small feet allowed. Portraits lining the walls looked at him disapprovingly and told shaming remarks; however, the boy wanted to know the truth. He could have asked his parents, but he wanted to hear it from his grandfather in person. Scorpius pushed open the heavy oak door of Lucius's room and went inside, stopping in the middle of the room. _

_Lucius was surprised by the ill-mannered behaviour of his grandson. He was going to say what his punishment would be for such an intrusion, when Scorpius asked what was on his mind._

"_Is it true?" the little boy inquired in a small and shaky voice._

"_What do you mean?" Lucius asked and waved his wand to magically close the door, which had remained open. _

"_They say that you have been in Azkaban!" Scorpius cried._

"_Who says?" Lucius asked._

"_Everyone! Everyone says that I will end up in Azkaban just as you did, because I have bad blood in my veins." The child was shaking slightly and Lucius could not understand whether it was of fury or because he desperately tried to hold back tears. _

"_You are not going to end up in Azkaban! Whoever said this nonsense are not in their right mind. The Malfoy blood is one of the purest in the country. You have to be proud to be a Malfoy, and you know it!" Lucius was surprised that the child doubted his family's ideals. _

"_So it is true then?" Scorpius shrieked and a tear broke from his left eye._

"_Yes, I have been in Azkaban, although many of my generation have. It is nothing exceptional and worth discussing," Lucius stated angrily, being furious that the subject had been brought up. _

"_You are lying!" Scorpius yelled and saw his grandfather's hand make an upwards movement. He shut his eyes awaiting a slap for his behaviour; however, did not receive it. Lucius controlled himself. "Only parents of Slytherins have been in Azkaban. I am not able to make friends from other Houses because of my family name," Scorpius said. _

"_You do not need friends from other houses. Slytherins are the ones who are going to get far and be remembered," Lucius said. He had always told Scorpius that Slytherins were the greatest and the child had doubtlessly believed him, but half a year in Hogwarts had changed his mind. The school was no good anymore. He had heard about the unreasonable things happening at Hogwarts. Slytherins had a hard time and purebloods lacked respect even in their own house. Lucius had warned Draco that it would be better to send the child to Durmstrang, but he had not listened. Lucius planned a serious discussion with Draco._

"_I know what you think!" Scorpius snapped as angrily as the child could. "And those are all lies. Slytherins are not the greatest. We are the outcasts!"_

"_You are too young to understand these things. You have to trust your family!" Lucius raised his voice. _

"_Should I be proud that you have been in Azkaban?" Scorpius asked and folded his arms across his chest spitefully. _

_T__here was no point in lying, even Lucius realised it. "No, it's nothing to be proud of. I got caught and it should not have happened. Never risk it with Azkaban, Scorpius. It does not matter how long the sentence is. The time spent there will always be remembered as the worst time of your life."_

"_Why?" The child never found an answer sufficient__ly informing._

"_Because the only thoughts that survive are those __of death. It is possible to resist Dementors for some time, but after that they suck any hope out of you and everything that remains is a dirty, inhuman shell. You have to either become so evil that even Dementors will be scared or learn to welcome death as Dementors will not suck that out of you. I managed to get through it with a clear head, but many do not."_

* * *

"I am not a criminal!" Scorpius roared. He could not comprehend how Hugo managed to catch him. Everything had gone according to plan, without any slips. He had even forgotten. Why now, four years later, was the case brought up? Hugo had frightened him. Azkaban was too harsh even without Dementors. It just could not be happening.

"Should I go over it again?" Hugo lifted a silver locket with a letter "M" made of diamonds in the middle of it. "Do you deny that this locket belongs to you?" he asked.

"It was my locket," Scorpius admitted, emphasizing the word 'was', but it seemed not to catch Hugo's attention. The plan had had no faults, because no one knew that the locket was his possession. It had remained in his room at all times. "How did you find out that it was my locket?" Scorpius dared to ask.

"Does it matter?" Hugo asked casually.

"Yes, it does matter!" Scorpius said. Only one person besides his family knew about the locket. It seemed highly suspicious that of all the people Hugo was the one who was interrogating him. Was Scorpius betrayed? Had he put too much trust in the girl? "Did she tell you?"

"Did she know? Then she's an accomplice!" Hugo was shocked. "I will have to question her, too. What can she tell me?"

"Leave her out of this. She has nothing to tell you," Scorpius told him and started with a deadly expression into Hugo's eyes.

"I thought you would be happy to have some company in Azkaban," Hugo said and raised en eyebrow.

"Do you mean what you just said?" Scorpius asked. He could not believe that Hugo would put everyone in Azkaban if he had a chance.

"Those who break the law have to be punished, and I will not make any exceptions," Hugo stated firmly and made Scorpius's headache stronger.

"You have tuned into a monster," Scorpius whispered.

"I am merely doing justice!" Hugo yelled.

"You are a monster!" Scorpius cried desperately seeing how Hugo was destroying his life.

"I would say the same about you. I always knew you had something up your sleeve, but I could not catch you. You, Malfoys, are experienced in breaking the law. I suspected that an investigation of dark objects would yield results." Hugo smirked.

"You investigated this with intention? Why are you doing this to me?" Scorpius asked. He felt helpless, seeing that Hugo wanted him in Azkaban no matter what. "Is it because of her? Will you never get over the fact that we love each other?"

"Let's deal with your crime and then have a chat about all other matters. I'm afraid that you might forget why we are here if we change the topic. You have such a short memory. It is not even lasting four years into the past. Four years ago you personally showed me this locket. You can imagine my surprise when I found this dear thing in the dark object section." Hugo laughed and saw recognition in Scorpius's eyes as his mind switched back four years in time to an event long forgotten.

* * *

"_Master __Scorpius." Boggy, a house elf, kneeled before him. "Master Draco asks you to bring him the locket Master Lucius gave you for your last birthday."_

_Scorpius__ was surprised by such a request. The locket had lain tucked in the furthest corner of his room since Lucius had given it to him. Scorpius opened a dusty box with some valuable possessions and retrieved a silver locket with a short chain and diamonds forming the letter "M". _

_He ran downstairs and __entered his father's study when he saw a blonde boy with an icy stare standing face to face with Draco. _

"_What is the albino Weasley doing here?" Scorpius could not hide his surprise. _

"_I am not an albino," Hugo said through gritted teeth, but his remark received no attention._

"_Mind your own business," Draco told Scorpius, "Just give me the locket and leave," he ordered and snatched it from Scorpius's hand. The door slammed in Scorpius's face. _

_He was very confused. Why did his father need the locket? Why would he want to harm the boy? Would he really do it? His last question was answered when he heard a scream __coming from the room he had just left. He immediately cast a silencing charm on the door, unwilling to listen to the suffering of Hugo. _

* * *

"Did you know of the curse placed on the locket?" Hugo asked, even though he was aware of the answer.

"Yes," Scorpius said. Lucius had given him the locket as a means of self-protection and to diagnose enemies. Lucius thought that it would be very amusing if someone wanted to try the locket on and got cursed, but Scorpius did not want anything like that to happen, and he did not feel a need for additional protection. His grandfather had always been concerned about safety and overprotected, but it had not protected him against a common Muggle flu from which he had died. Scorpius found it more absurd than tragic that the noble pureblood was defeated by something that most Muggles were able to fight. After Lucius died, Scorpius did not feel obligated to like the locket, so it had lain covered in dust in a box with other just as useless, yet very precious to the Malfoys, possessions.

"Do you want to know what is written in the record?" Hugo asked and continued without an answer. "Description: Silver locket with a silver chain and diamond letter "M" in the middle. Classification: Highly dangerous dark object. Properties: identifies particular family's blood. When worn by someone from another family inflicts pain similar to the Cruciatus Curse. Found on: 07.08.2024. Location: London, Muggle neighbourhood. Damage inflicted: A Muggle woman was approximately two minutes under the curse. Consequences – shock, lasting pain. Owner: unidentified. Curse: cannot be removed," Hugo read from the record.

"I already told you under Veritaserum that the locket had never been in the Muggle's house. The record you have is falsified," Scorpius tried to explain once more even though he had understood that Hugo would not believe him. It seemed to Scorpius that Hugo actually wanted him imprisoned, because Hugo's hatred was too intense.

"You are lying. Records cannot be falsified," Hugo spat.

"They can!" Scorpius exclaimed helplessly.

"Well, then the case is getting even more interesting. A charge for harming a Muggle would get you a small sentence in Azkaban, but a charge for falsifying restricted Ministry records is much graver," Hugo told him, "Why would you have to falsify the record anyway? This is the worst excuse I've ever heard."

* * *

"_Scorpius!" a yell echoed throughout the Malfoy Manor. Scorpius startled and quickly hid the letter he had been writing. He wanted to be left alone, but his father kept an eye on him at all times since he had returned from school. He quickly got downstairs and found his father at the bottom of the stairs impatiently waiting for him. _

"_What took you so long?" Draco snapped. __Scorpius decided not to comment. His father was never pleased with anything he did. _

"_How can I help you, father?" Scorpius asked wanting to deal with it quickly._

"_I heard news from my friends at the Ministry. They will do massive raids soon. Our house is one of the first on the list," Draco told him and looked upset. Scorpius knew that they had retained many Dark artefacts. _

"_Do you want me to surrender them to the Ministry of Magic?" _

"_Are you insane?" Draco yelled at the top of his lungs and looked down at his son, making him feel small and miserable. "We have surrendered too many items to the Ministry already. The Ministry does not suspect our possessions to be even half as harmful as they are, and it has to remain so. We came as clean as we could out of the war and we will remain so. Final!" Draco stated with authority and Scorpius knew that there was no use in arguing. _

"_Then just hide them in the secret room below the drawing room," __Scorpius suggested. _

"_The Ministry knows about the room. They are not safe in this house," Draco told him. _

"_I do not want to get involved," __Scorpius stated. _

"_This is not a matter for discussion," Draco told him strictly, "There are two boxes with our possessions on the table. I want them well hidden. I cannot do that myself as people from the Ministry might question me. It's preferable if I do not know anything about their faith. Moreover, it should keep you occupied for some time and take your mind off that filthy girl."_

* * *

"It has to do with the massive Ministry raids three years ago," Scorpius told Hugo.

"So you let the poor Muggle woman get cursed just because you had to get rid of your Dark possessions and were too proud to give them to the Ministry?" Hugo was disgusted.

"No woman was cursed. Everything written on the record is false!" Scorpius yelled in frustration.

"Prove it!" Hugo spat.

"What will happen if I do?" Scorpius asked and his voice trembled slightly.

Hugo seized Scorpius's collar and pulled him close. "Then whoever helped you will keep you company in Azkaban. And I mean it! It does not matter if it is your father with a pile of money or even my own sister. Messing with Ministry's records is a severe crime and whoever attempts to do it does not get out clean." Hugo did not need to speak loudly to make the desired impact. Soon the boy was trembling with fear.

"Who helped you?" Hugo questioned.

Scorpius broke loose from his grasp and fell back to the chair breathing heavily, his wide eyes focused on Hugo.

"Was it your father?" Hugo asked. Draco did not have any connections in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as far as Hugo knew; although, he could manage to do something like that.

Scorpius stared at him with blank eyes. His attitude infuriated Hugo who was losing patience.

"Crucio!" the sharp word was pronounced the second time that day. Scorpius fell down on the ground again and felt the pain ripping his body with twice as strong force as previously. Remains of the previous curse had hidden in his body, gaining strength and awaiting an opportunity to unleash pain. He screamed with a force which broke through the silencing spell on the room and Hugo had to lift the spell.

Hugo approached Scorpius's hovering body and grabbed his collar again, lifting him forcefully from the ground. "Speak!" Hugo furiously demanded, being ignorant of the impact the Cruciatus Curse had inflicted on Scorpius's vocal cords.

"I lied!" Scorpius coughed.

"That much I know!" Hugo yelled into his face. "More details would be useful."

"Filthy Muggles have to be punished. She deserved it!" Scorpius spat and put a frown on his face which only a Malfoy could master.

"Welcome to Azkaban!" Hugo laughed victoriously. It had taken a repeated Cruciatus Curse get the truth out. It had to be documented. His sentence could be even longer than Hugo had initially thought, when taking into account his unwillingness to tell the truth.

*******

**A/N: So who is the monster?**


	2. The Weasleys

**2. ****The Weasleys**

A sound of shattering porcelain echoed through a house and a bushy haired woman stood still for the moment listening carefully to what was happening downstairs and hoping that the noise did not wake the youngest member of the family. She clearly heard the splashing of the morning coffee as the hot liquid broke free from the cup and hit the floor. She put the blame on her daughter's clumsiness. Many items had suffered damage when they had slipped from Rose's hands. Hermione had hoped that it would get better as the girl grew older, but since she had become a mother it had only become worse. No movement could be heard downstairs, so Hermione decided to look what was going on.

A young woman with bushy red hair was sitting at a table. Shatters of porcelain where scattered around her chair and her yellow slippers were soaking in coffee. She did not pay any attention to the mess that she had created. Instead she gazed at a morning newspaper with a look of utter shock and disbelief.

"Evanesco!" Hermione whispered and the floor was spotless again. It was a shame about the cup, though. It had been a present from Molly for her and Ron's wedding anniversary. She approached her daughter and glanced at the newspaper to see what troubled her girl so much.

On the front page was a desperate blond man in a dark place, behind bars. He was holding a plate which clearly spelled 'Scorpius Malfoy'. The article was about his two-year sentence in Azkaban for torturing a Muggle woman.

"After all," Hermione said with a slight touch of disgust. "I always suspected that he would end up in Azkaban. That's the right place for the Malfoys." After the war she had thought that the Malfoys had changed, but she had been wrong. Time put everything back into its place, and Draco continued to make her life miserable, leaving Hermione a bitter remembrance of the time she had been foolish enough to believe that he could become different.

"Don't say such things about Scorpius!" Rose yelled and jumped up from her seat smashing a plate which was in her arm's way. Hermione gritted her teeth, but kept silent.

"Your crush is a bad boy. He is no match for you! You have to break those foolish illusions of love and devotion. The Malfoys can put up a show which is very convincing, but you will never be together. How long are you going to wait? It's been nearly four years. Accept the fact that it's over." Hermione tried to change Rose's mind; however, she knew that there was no use. More than three years had passed since they had last seen each other, but Rose had never stopped thinking about Scorpius.

Rose realised that the only matter in which her family and the Malfoys agreed was the impropriety of her and Scorpius's relationship. While at first they had tried to reason with their families and fight for the right to be together, later they realised that their families would never accept the fact that love between a Malfoy and a Weasley was possible.

While the attitude of Scorpius's family was not surprising, Rose had not expected such intense hatred from her parents. Ron had always told her not to be friendly with Scorpius and it had only fanned her interest. What was so special about the boy if her father was so prone not to let her near him? In the pursuit of truth and understanding she became friends with Scorpius early into her school years and they had remained friends much to their parents' dismay. They had become a couple at the end of the fifth year, making Ron's hair go grey and causing Hermione an addiction to the calming potion. All the summer Rose had written him unanswered letters and waited for the sixth year to start when they would be together again and their parents would not be able to separate them; however, she received an unpleasant surprise at the start of the term. Scorpius had been transferred to Durmstrang. They could finally exchange letters as Draco could not conceal them from Scorpius, but it was incomparable with the time when they had been together in Hogwarts.

Rose had hoped to find some comfort in her family, but instead of sharing Rose's grief Hermione smiled and said that it was for the better, Ron threw a party for his friends thinking that Rose did not know, and her brother said that he would have less work when he graduated if there was less filth in the country. Her aunt Ginny was the only one who had faked some compassion; however, soon after Rose had left, she went lecturing Lily about what would happen if she fell in love with a Death Eater's child.

"I know your opinion, mother," Rose snapped. "You talk as if you have never loved!"

"Your love is a mistake, a serious mistake! Be glad that you could not be together. Just imagine how ashamed you would be to have your husband in Azkaban," Hermione reasoned. She had actually been delighted when Rose's relationship with Scorpius fell apart. Hermione knew well enough what her daughter was getting into and she did not want her life ruined. Hermione believed that Rose would get over it, but the girl was very stubborn and had never lost hope to be together again. Rose was very naïve and believed everything that Scorpius told her.

"But this is all lies!" Rose said and burst into tears. "Nothing written here is true. He did not hurt anybody!"

"Why do you think so?" a male voice asked and Hugo revealed himself standing in the doorway. Hermione wondered how long he had eavesdropped on their conversation and concluded that most probably for the whole time. It was characteristic for him to spy on others.

"I know!" Rose cried desperately looking at Hugo with pleading eyes as if believing that he could help Scorpius. "This cannot be for real! He cannot be in Azkaban without any proof."

"I gathered proof myself," Hugo stated and received a surprised look from his mother, while his sister looked at him shocked and went white with terror. She put down the newspaper and turned all her attention to Hugo.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, thinking that she had misheard. She knew that her brother had something against the Malfoys and it was more than the common stereotype, but she could not believe that he would take part in imprisoning the man she loved.

"I questioned Scorpius myself and he confessed to everything," Hugo said without any emotion or shame.

"He is not guilty!" Rose yelled hysterically.

"You have to forget him," Hugo said. "He has manipulated you and now you believe everything what he has told you. He is a very skilled liar, just like the rest of his family. He did not confess until I used the Cruciatus Curse on him."

"Bastard!" Rose yelled. She jumped up from her seat and tried to slap her brother; however, he was faster and seized her arm.

"He left me no choice," Hugo said and lowered Rose's arm thinking that she would calm down, but she resumed raging and crying and Hugo had to control her forcefully again.

"Can we believe you?" Hermione intervened and received a puzzled look from Hugo. "It is an Unforgivable Curse! You cannot cast Unforgivables whenever you feel like it." Hermione had always been proud of Hugo. He was clever, got a scholarship in a prestigious institute, and had built his career surprisingly fast; however, now he worried her. He had acquired too much power and was using it without any consideration. This time he had gone too far.

"You are lying!" Rose said suddenly, eyeing Hugo suspiciously. "What did you do to make him lie? Did you threaten to put me in Azkaban?"

"What does it have to do with you?" Hugo asked and Rose brought back a memory that had been hidden deep in her memory until now when it was relived again.

_

* * *

Rose had waited two years until they got the Apparition licences and she could meet __Scorpius again, secretly, of course. Their usual meeting place was by a small lake which was magically hidden from Muggles, __although__ wizards did not visit it, either. The sun was setting behind the trees and Rose was getting cold in the chilly evening air even though it was summer._ _The breeze settled down and the lake before her stood still, reflecting the trees together with the red sunset. He had not come. She decided to wait until it got dark. She was not worried, only slightly disappointed. Their meetings did not always work out, because everything was based on secretly sneaking out of their houses. _

_Suddenly she was startled __when someone put a hand on her shoulder. Rose turned around and saw Scorpius's face just inches away from hers. His lips found hers and a bit of magic passed through their bodies. _

"_You came!" she exclaimed happily, and her eyes twinkled with excitement._

"_I am sorry. I did not want to risk it by coming earlier," Scorpius told her; however, Rose had become more concerned with how worried he looked, than the fact that he was late. _

"_What has happened?" she asked__, seeing through him. _

"_I got a task from my father," Scorpius revealed and the worry lines on his face intensified. "We have retained some Dark artefacts and he wants me to hide them before the Ministry searches our house."_

"_Surrender them to the Ministry before the raid," Rose replied._

"_Father forbade me to __do it. He thinks that it will damage our reputation if it is revealed how dangerous our possessions are, not to mention how fond he is of them," Scorpius told her._

"_I see. Actually, he might be right. Reporters like to attack elite families by bringing up their secrets," Rose sighed, realising that Scorpius had a problem. "You cannot simply throw them away either, because then someone might get hurt. Also hiding them will not work as people tend to feel magic and somehow get attracted to the places where it is concentrated."_

"_Precisely," __Scorpius sighed. "I don't know what to do."_

"_I can settle it," Rose told him and saw a puzzled expression on Scorpius's face. "I have an internship in the Office for the __Detection and Confiscation of Highly Dangerous Magical Objects. My grandfather Arthur helped me to get the position, because I somehow had to fill my time in the summer usefully. I could add your possessions to the stock of what they already have and make up records for them."_

"_Is it safe?" __Scorpius asked. "I don't want you to get into trouble." _

"_I will be careful," she said. "Will anyone be able to recognise your possessions? It is not safe for you if anyone can."_

"_No, I don't think so. The Malfoys keep their most valuable and Darkest items only for their own knowledge as they believe that no other eyes deserve resting on them."_

"_Then I believe that it is the safest way__ out," Rose assured him and took his mind off the problem. _

* * *

"Don't act as if you don't know," Rose snapped. She knew that Hugo was only pretending that he did not understand what was going on. "You know that he did nothing and I falsified the record for him. What do you have against him? How could you do this to me? You are hurting me more that him! I will have to live the rest on my life with an amount of guilt on my shoulders that could push me to the centre of the Earth. I assured him that it was perfectly safe!" Rose could not hold back tears. She had noticed that her brother had changed a few years ago, but she had never thought that he would be able to do something so cruel.

"Are you admitting that you took part in the affair and falsified strictly classified documents?" Even though Hugo knew that she loved him, he had always thought that she was clever and prudent.

"I would do anything for him!" Rose exclaimed. Hugo was very smart; however, he was so cold, distant and often filled with hate, that he was not able to let love into his heart and understand what a person in love was capable of.

"At first I thought that he covered for Draco," Hugo said and received another wave of rage from his sister.

"Do you mean that you knew he was not guilty and imprisoned him just to punish Draco? You are a monster!" she yelled and Hugo heard the word 'monster' address him again. It was ridiculous. He was carrying out justice and instead of receiving some gratitude, he was called a monster. Hugo saw nothing monstrous in his ability to discover well hidden secrets and lies. Those who deserved punishment got it one way or another. If he could not catch Draco himself, then he made him suffer through Scorpius. It was not like punishing an innocent person. Scorpius had sinned and time in Azkaban would only do him good.

"I understood by the end of interrogating that it was you who had helped him. Do you realise that you should be in Azkaban now, Rose?" Hugo raised an eyebrow.

"Stop it, Hugo!" Hermione intervened again seeing that Hugo was going completely out of control. She could not believe that he had deliberately caused his sister pain. "You will never allow your sister to go to Azkaban. That is out of the question."

"Mother, I am fighting for justice. You cannot expect me to cover criminals just because they are related to me. This time I let it be, but only because Rose is going to be punished in double knowing that her beloved one is in jail purely because of her action. If she had not suggested the idea about falsifying documents, none of this would have happened."

"Hugo, you have overstepped the line. This is not how you should treat your family," Hermione told him. She was alarmed and suddenly became scared of her own son. It seemed that he was overtaken by the wish to take revenge upon the Malfoys and he had completely lost any sense of what a family meant.

"Well, maybe I am closer to my other family," Hugo snapped and left, slamming the door behind him. Hermione went slightly pale, but Rose did not understand what he meant; however, whisked the thoughts out of her head as she had more important matters on her mind.

"Mother," Rose cried. "Scorpius is the father of my daughter! How do you think Annie will feel knowing that her father is in Azkaban?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Hermione snapped unwillingly. "Annie does not know her father. He does not even know that she exists," Hermione told her, believing that this was the issue which had the least importance.

_

* * *

It was an unusually warm__ day in autumn when Rose and Scorpius finally were able to meet again. They sat on a rug in their usual place by the lake and enjoyed the beauty of red and yellow leaves on the nearby trees. However, the view could not be compared to their pleasure of being together. _

"_I wish we could meet more often," Rose said. "Since my internship ended, I have more free time __and my Healer training is not intense. I would rather spend time with you instead of thinking about you."_

"_You know that there is nothing I want more," Scorpius told her._

_Rose knew that __Scorpius returned her feelings; however, she was slowly getting annoyed. It seemed that there would never be an end to the problems and they would never find a way to be together. _

"_Let's run away from the country," Rose proposed. She wanted to leave their disapproving parents behind. _

"_Rose, we've been through this. It is not a solution. We will simply run away from our problems, but it will do no good," Scorpius argued. "We need my father's approval," he added. Rose suddenly straightened up and looked into his eyes angrily. _

"_Say it as it is!" she __exclaimed. "You don't need his approval; you need his money, because you do not want to live like a Weasley!"_

"_Money is necessary! We have not completed our education; we will not earn enough to make a living in a foreign country," he told her firmly. _

"_You are __so pampered!" she snapped. _

"_It is not only about me. I can live without everything if I have you, but I want you to have a good life. I do not want you living in some shack and hiding from my father. Besides, money is not the only problem," he told her._

"_What is it__ then?" Rose was concerned. _

"_Her name is __Dorinda Nott," he sighed._

"_What?" Rose exclaimed. She had expected to hear something about his father, but not another girl's name. Although, she was sure that __Scorpius loved her and the other girl did not mean anything to him, the shadow of a doubt crossed her mind and she winced as if in pain. _

"_Father wants me to marry her," Scorpius told her. Rose looked at him with desperate eyes and he saw them fill with tears. "Don't cry," Scorpius said and gently brushed away her tears. "I am not going to do it."_

"_Do you have a choice__?" Rose asked and could not suppress a sob. _

"_He can__not force me into that marriage!" Scorpius exclaimed. "I am working on the problem; however, it is not as easy as I imagined. Her parents have gone abroad and meanwhile she is staying with us. I believe that it was done intentionally. Dorinda seems determined about the marriage and I cannot find a way to push her away and change her mind. I cannot even get away from her, because she is keeping an eye on me at all times. I hardly made it here today"._

"_What is she like?"__ Rose asked although she did not really want to know. She was afraid. If the girl seemed so determined and patient than she could also have her way sooner or later._

"_She's a typical Malfoy already, very proud of her blood and prejudiced. Even her ivory appearance suits our family and combined with her self-restrain and high-class manners makes her a perfect ice queen," he groaned. _

_Rose sighed, __took a strand of her bushy red hair, frowned upon it and quickly tossed it aside. _

"_I love your bushy hair and freckles!" Scorpius said sincerely and kissed her on the nose. Rose giggled, pushed Scorpius to the ground and started kissing him passionately. _

"_Hold on!" __Scorpius laughed delightfully. "I think we should get ourselves a room." _

_Rose__'s eyes twinkled as she gave him her hand and they disappeared with a pop. _

_A blond woman with an icy stare revealed herself from the shadows on the other side of the small lake. She looked at the place where the two lovers had just been and frowned. Then she disappeared with a pop just as the pair had done previously. _

* * *

_Exactly two__ weeks later Rose was sitting again by the lake and waiting for Scorpius. He had not come the week before and she had not managed to contact him. She was sitting on a heap of yellow leaves and observing how cold, empty and unwelcoming the place had started to look._

_Suddenly __Rose heard a rustle of leaves behind her and jumped up excitedly to run into the arms of her lover; however, stood rooted to the spot when she saw an unfamiliar woman. Rose felt foolish, blushed slightly and was going to fall back onto the leaves when she noticed that the woman was determinately coming towards her. The woman's appearance caught Rose's attention. Smooth locks of light blond hair encircled her perfect ivory skin and cascaded down a luxurious silver robe. She was walking incredibly gracefully as if flying above the leaves, and a sly smile was spreading across her face. Rose gasped, realizing that it could only be Dorinda Nott. Rose felt that Dorinda would somehow hurt her, but she was unable to move and simply stood there staring at her and desperately unwilling to hear what she was going to say. _

"_I take it you are Rose,__" Dorinda said almost kindly; however, Rose could see through her and noticed an insult forming on her lips. _

"_Dorinda," Rose whispered. _

"_I see that Scorpius has already told you about me," she smirked._

"_Yes," Rose uttered, being embarrassed for not being able to say anything and feeling that Dorinda had already won. _

"_Scorpius is not going to come here again," Dorinda said and received a desperate yet unsurprised stare from Rose. "We are getting married soon."_

"_No!" Rose exclaimed. "He does not love you!" _

"_Scorpius has thought the matter over. You cannot give him anything but love. I have much more to offer," she told her with an unquestionable confidence and Rose trembled, knowing that it was true. Dorinda had everything what Rose had not. Under other circumstances Dorinda could even be called likable. _

"_You are lying!__ Scorpius does not care about everything that you can offer. He loves me!" Rose exclaimed in despair and could not hold back a tear, which fell down her cheek, because she understood how ridiculous she sounded. _

"_Then how do you explain the fact that __Scorpius could not pluck up the courage to come here himself?" Dorinda asked. _

_Rose Disapparated__ in shock and ran home crying her heart out. Only when Hermione had given her a good dose of calming potion did she realise how much she should have told Dorinda. _

* * *

_If someone was to go past the__ wrought-iron gates of the Malfoy Manor in the beginning of November, they would be surprised to see a girl with messy red hair banging frantically at the gates. Usually guests who went to the manor house looked very aristocratic, not to mention their strange choice of clothing. _

_Rose was desperate. __Scorpius had not answered her letters and she could not find a way to reach him. It seemed that he had not gone out of the house at all, because she had visited all the places where he used to go and no one had seen him in weeks. _

_Everyone had told her to forget Scoprious. They knew it was harsh, but there was no way that a Malfoy and a Weasley __could be together. It was simply wrong. True, the war had changed people, but the Malfoy blood was stronger than war._

_Rose heard angry footsteps on the other side of the gates and soon __Draco walked through the iron gates as if they were not there._

"_What are you doing here__, you insufferable filthy girl?" he cast a furious glance at her and moved closer while holding eye-contact. His body language was threatening and Rose instinctively backed away from him. _

"_I have to talk to __Scorpius," Rose told him in a shaky voice. _

_Draco broke his intensive gaze and chuckled softly. "No," he told her coldly, "Not only do you not have to talk to him, you also will not."_

"_Please!" Rose exclaimed and she was just a moment away from falling down on her knees and begging Draco. She could not wait any longer. She had to see Scorpius and she was going to do whatever it would take._

"_I said no!" Draco snapped and disappeared on the other side again, easily slipping through the iron gates. _

"_I am pregnant!" Rose yelled miserably__, knowing that Draco could hear her. It worked, she heard a furious groan, and he slipped to her side of the gates again. Draco's eyes rested on her belly for a moment and Rose saw worry crossing his eyes; however, he quickly shrugged the worry off him and his face stiffened._

"_If you want to convince anyone that Scorpius has something to do with it then don't even try," he snapped after a moment of consideration._

_Rose gasped. She could not understand how Draco could be so mean. He understood well enough who the father was._

"_I want to hear it from Scorpius!" Rose persisted. _

"_Listen, girl!" Draco grabbed her collar and made her look into his cold grey eyes. "Scorpius is arranging his wedding. He has no time for you. I will give you money, because I understand that the Weasleys do not have any, and you will deal with your little problem. If I ever hear of a child, I will destroy your whole family. I promise!" Draco released her from his angry gaze and let go of her collar as if he had been holding something dirty. She fell down in a heap on the ground and lay there sobbing uncontrollably._

**

* * *

I would be grateful for a review!**


	3. Azkaban

**3. Azkaban**

Scorpius held a small rock in his hand. The rock had absorbed warmth from his hand and was the only warm object in his cell. Scorpius got up from the mattress and went to the darkest corner of the room where he scratched a thin line into a wall with the rock. He counted seven lines. Only seven days he had been in Azkaban, but it felt like an eternity.

What surprised him was that Azkaban was not as bad as he had imagined. He longed for warmth, but he could put up with everything else. It was surely different now, when there were no Dementors. Actually Scorpius enjoyed solitude. No one troubled him in his cell and he could spend his time thinking. He did not have to put up with his family or wife, in a way he felt free.

"Malfoy," Scorpius was yanked out of his thoughts by the harsh voice of a guard, "you've got a visitor."

Scorpius wondered who it could be. His parents had already visited him and Scorpius had clearly seen the fear in Draco's eyes. Draco had always been terrified of Azkaban and would keep away as long as his conscience allowed.

"Hello, Scorpius!" Hugo Weasley greeted him. "What a lovely cell you have," he taunted Scorpius and smirked.

"What are you doing here, Weasley?" Scorpius addressed him coldly, being as angry as he could be. He knew that Hugo had intentionally put him in Azkaban. He had not made up his mind yet on whether Rose had taken revenge on him and told Hugo or not, but Scorpius knew for sure that Hugo gained something by imprisoning him.

"I just thought that we could have a lovely little chat," Hugo teased him. "I hope you are not very busy."

Scorpius just glared at him angrily, but said nothing. He had always felt that Hugo disliked him and this was a perfect moment for Hugo to give Scorpius a bad time.

Hugo conjured himself a chair and cast a warm bubble around himself intensifying Scorpius's anger twofold. Hugo sat down casually as if he was enjoying the place, unbuttoned his coat and took a scarf off his neck revealing the shining silver Malfoy locket.

Scorpius was taken aback and completely puzzled. Not only Hugo had no right to take his property, but the locket was harmful for anyone who wore it. "Why do you have the locket?" Scorpius demanded an answer.

"I did not think that you would mind if I borrowed it, because you had left the locket to a Muggle women after all." Hugo smirked.

"You said that the curse cannot be removed from the locket," Scorpius uttered bringing up the subject which worried him the most.

"True, it cannot be removed," Hugo confirmed.

"Then you should be howling in agony right now," Scorpius said.

"Are you really that pigheaded?" Hugo sneered.

"I don't understand," Scorpius whispered and blinked a few times trying to understand how Hugo had made the illusion of wearing the locket.

"Do you really believe that I am an albino?" Hugo laughed.

"There is no other explanation," Scorpius uttered. It was the first time in many generations that a Weasley was not red-haired and moreover blonde. It was explained that Hugo was an albino. Such a baby was born rarely, yet it was not extraordinary.

"The locket clearly shows where my appearance comes from, _brother_," Hugo revealed and examined Scorpius's reaction with curiosity.

"Albino is a more plausible explanation," Scorpius brushed off the idea of having him as a brother. His father despised Muggleborns. An idea of an affair between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Weasley was unthinkable.

"Mother knew that Wizards have no idea about genetic disorders when she came up with it. Albinos do not have just white hair and light skin, it is more complicated. However, does it matter? The locket speaks for itself." Hugo explained and smiled, seeing how puzzled Scorpius was.

"That time, when you were at my house, I heard you screaming," Scorpius still tried to deny the explanation.

"This is where you are wrong," Hugo told him. "I knew you would not believe me, so I wanted to show you the memory, but sadly you do not have your wand." Hugo sighed as if in defeat. "Luckily I did not come here without a present," he said and took a wand out of his pocket. Scorpius recognized it as a toy wand for children, charmed to do only particular harmless spells. "This toy wand is modified. It allows casting only Legilimens. Do it and I'll show you."

"Legilimens!" Scorpius said and entered the memory through Hugo's eyes.

* * *

_An eighteen year old Hugo Weasley stood face to face with a furious Draco Malfoy, holding eye contact patiently and smirking. _

"_I want you to prove it!" Draco said._

"_How?" Hugo asked and saw an evil grin spreading on Draco's face. Draco lifted the Muffliato spell from his office and called a house elf. _

"_Boggy, ask Scorpius to come here and bring the locket father gave him for his last birthday." He dismissed the house elf and turned back to Hugo. Soon Scorpius saw himself entering the room. He did not hide his surprise seeing Hugo with his father._

"_What is the albino Weasley doing here?" he asked._

"_I am not an albino," Hugo said through gritted teeth._

"_It does not matter," Draco said, "Just give me the locket and leave," he ordered and snatched a silver locket with a short chain and diamonds forming the letter "M" from Scorpius's hand. Just as the boy had left, Draco slammed the door in his face. _

"_You will put this on," Draco told Hugo, "and we will see."_

"_How?" Hugo asked. _

"_The locket is harmless to someone with the Malfoy blood flowing in the veins, but could be fatal to someone who is not a Malfoy. You will feel what the locket can do. Do you still want to test your assumption?" Draco smirked and had a very satisfied look on his face. He knew that the locket would put the boy under unbearable pain and he would dearly regret showing the temerity to come to the Manor and suggest something as foolish as being a Malfoy._

_Scorpius saw a shadow of a doubt pass Hugo's eyes. However, his slightly trembling hand reached for the locket and examined it. Then he held his breath and quickly put the locket on. Nothing happened and he let the breath out. Scorpius would pay to see that look on his father's face again. It was a mixture of utter shock and embarrassment. His eyes grew wide, his lips started trembling and he screamed in anger. _

_After a moment Draco cast a deadly stare at Hugo and pushed him roughly into the wall. _

"_What do you want?" Draco yelled._

"_Relax, _father_, I do not want the Malfoy name or a room in this Manor. I longed for the life I deserve when I was a child, but now I'll be modest with my request. I need your help with a small matter. I want a place in the Magical Institute of Politics, which naturally includes all related expenses, and a leading position within the Ministry after that." _

"_Are you serious?" Draco wore a completely astonished expression._

"_Is there a problem?" Hugo sneered at him. "Because if there is then soon the whole Wizarding community will know with whom you have mixed your noble blood." Draco still held Hugo pushed to the wall and his eyes were darting around madly as if he were looking for something what could resolve the problem. "By the way, if I mysteriously disappear or die on my way back home, then everyone will still know not only our relation, but also who is responsible. I have taken care of that. Mark my words."_

_The threat worked and Draco let go of Hugo. "Get out!" he yelled._

_Hugo laughed with satisfaction and exited the room, but before closing the door said, "Don't mess with me, father, I am a Malfoy after all."_

"I don't understand," Scorpius said. "My father would never come near your mother."

"Obviously you are wrong. Draco wanted to have some fun while your mother was nursing you. And it turns out my mother is a bit of a slut," Hugo said completely seriously. "But hiding babies is nothing out of ordinary in our family," he added.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius was confused.

"I bet you are not informed about Annie, your daughter," Hugo revealed and an evil grin crossed his face.

Scorpius lost all the blood what had been in his cheeks due to anger and became deadly pale, his eyes started to water mildly. "Why are you telling me that now?" he whispered.

"Draco has forgotten to take care of my latest requirement. I am going to remind him by letting some of his secrets slip. Tell him that I have chosen a reliable source, meaning you, only for now," Hugo said viciously and left.

* * *

Draco came to Azkaban only three days later. If he had done that earlier Scorpius could have cast Avada Kedavra wandlessly. However, three days later the feeling of betrayal had suppressed anger and Scorpius felt completely miserable.

"I don't want to see you, father," Scorpius said bitterly and turned away from him, facing the dark corner with the ten scratches barely visible.

"What's the matter with you?" Draco asked angrily. "Azkaban should not drive anyone mad without Dementors."

"My _brother_ visited me," Scorpius said and faced Draco to see how he went white with terror. "He let some secrets slip, said you are not good with fulfilling his requirements."

"Ungrateful bastard!" Draco yelled. "What else did he let slip?"

"Just a minor detail such as the existence of my daughter. I am sure that there is a good reason why you forgot to tell me this," Scorpius said sarcastically.

"There is a child?" Draco gasped.

"Evidently," Scorpius said and raised an eyebrow. Did it mean that Draco had not known? Scorpius was not sure, but he had guessed that Draco should have known. He did not believe that Rose had not tried to contact him.

"I gave her money to get rid of the child!" Draco yelled.

"You did what?" Scorpius was taken aback. Now everything made sense. If Draco had threatened Rose then it explained why he had never heard that she had a child.

"I did what I was supposed to do. One Malfoy bastard is enough," Draco growled.

"I will never forgive you," Scorpius said in a distant voice. "And I do not want your lawyer. I would rather stay here than go back to Dorinda. I hate her!"

"You are out of your mind!" Draco spat and left in a fury.

* * *

When Draco stormed into the Malfoy Manor, a middle-aged woman with blonde curls awaited him in the entrance hall. Astoria was sitting rather uncomfortably on a small couch and clutching an already cold cup of tea.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"He refused to talk with the lawyer!" Draco yelled.

"Why?" Astoria gave him a puzzled look.

"He would rather rot in Azkaban than come back to Dorinda. That ungrateful boy does not deserve to be rescued!" Draco raved.

"He is your son and it's your duty to help him. If he does not want to come back then leave him alone, just get him out of there!" she exclaimed. "And remember that he has done nothing that you have not," Astoria said bitterly and stormed out of the room.

* * *

The next day a man in a black robe with a hood stopped at a plain house among many similar ones. He looked quickly to the left and right, afraid that someone might spot him, before ringing the bell.

"I'll get it!" Hugo called out and went to the door. He had to put a lot of effort to hide his surprise when he saw Draco. He pulled Draco in and closed both doors leading to the small entrance hall.

"What a surprise! Did you come to give me a birthday present?" Hugo taunted him.

Draco frowned. "I will give you whatever you want if you get Scorpius out of Azkaban," he offered reluctantly.

"Oh! What a tempting offer," Hugo sneered, "however, you have not realized that I don't want anything. I want to see you suffer because your acknowledged son is in Azkaban. I promised to destroy you, father, and I am capable of it. Remember that I have your blood. I cannot get you, so I'm going around."

"Don't you care about your sister?" Draco tried to reason.

"Obviously not. She is better off without him. What I care about is revenge. Do you think that I would not have wanted to grow up as a Malfoy and enjoy all the luxury? Do you think that it was easy for me, being a Malfoy deep inside, to live in this dysfunctional family where the head of the family is even afraid to ask his wife why his son is blonde? There are many reasons for me to enjoy this time, knowing that Scorpius does not get anything what should be mine, and seeing you suffer. I am not going to help you," Hugo explained cold heartedly and Draco understood that he had met his match.

Draco suddenly brushed past Hugo and went into the house.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hugo exclaimed angrily, but was too late to stop him, because Draco had already spotted Rose in the kitchen and entered it.

"I need a word with your sister," Draco said and slammed the door shut. Hugo only managed to see the terrified expression on his sister's face as she clasped Annie in her arms.

"Feel free to humiliate yourself as much as you want, Draco. You won't achieve anything!" Hugo yelled through the door and got his ears filled with a buzzing sound from the Muffliato spell. Hugo stomped his foot in anger and left. He knew that Draco would not dare to harm Rose.

Draco stood for a moment fuming with anger. Which part of 'get rid of the child' had the girl misunderstood? The small blonde girl in her lap looked just as every other Malfoy did. Draco chose not to push the matter. He had more serious concerns now. Draco felt highly uncomfortable seeing how the child eyed him with wide blue eyes.

"Who is it mummy?" the little girl asked.

"That's your grandfather," Rose said after a moment of consideration and chewed her lip while awaiting the reaction.

"But Ron has red hair," Annie chose the most evident difference of all.

"No silly, that's you other grandfather, Draco."

The girl broke loose for her mother's clasp and ran around the table, looking everywhere around. "But you told me that I will meet my other granddad only if my daddy comes back. Where is my daddy?"

"Answer her, Draco," Rose told him and indeed awaited a response.

It had been such a long time since Scorpius had been small. Draco could not remember how to talk to a child. He wanted to ignore her, but those Malfoy eyes pierced through him and he felt obliged to answer.

"Your father will be back if your mother helps me to free him," Draco said and turned to Rose. He stared at her impatiently with a raised eyebrow, waiting for a response.

This aroused interest in Rose and she ushered Annie out of the door. "Go to granny," Rose told her. The child looked at her with pleading eyes, not willing to leave, but that did not touch Rose. Instead she shut the door and turned full attention to Draco.

"Why should I help you?" Rose asked and looked into his eyes trying to make out any sincerity in his words.

"You can have him if we get him out," Draco answered through gritted teeth. It was a response he had carefully considered.

"Why should I believe you?" she demanded, glaring at him. After all the threats it sounded like an empty promise.

"You have nothing to lose," Draco stated firmly. "Talk with Arthur," he suggested.

"I'll see what I can do," Rose told him after a moment of consideration. "Now I would be very grateful if you left."

Rose guided him out of the kitchen and they were met by an amusing sight in the room. Hermione stood not far from the kitchen door, holding a constant gaze on it. She was so angry that even her hair stood on end, and a wet broom besides her was washing the floor hectically following her uncontrolled wand movements.

"How dare you step into my house?" Hermione screeched and with a flick of the wand the wet broom darted into Draco's face and slapped his cheek. Draco stood agape for a moment before he bolted out of the house trying to defend himself from the broom which was chasing him even on the street.

"What's the matter with you, mum?" Rose asked when she recovered from the shock. This was not something what Hermione did to people on regular basis, even to the rare ones she loathed.

"I think it's time for Rose to know," Hugo said and an evil grin crossed his face.

* * *

Scorpius counted forty-one scratches on the wall when Rose finally visited him. She approached his cell timidly, avoided eye contact, was afraid to show any feelings and especially afraid that all her feelings for him will renew with a stronger force.

"I have arranged everything for you to leave the country," she told him without an introduction.

Scorpius stared at her thunderstruck and could not comprehend how she had managed to do something like that. "And you?" he asked.

"I have no respect for my mother anymore. I am finally not afraid to hurt her feelings by going away. You have to leave Dorinda, though," she smirked.

"Have you arranged that, too?" Scorpius asked knowing that leaving Dorinda would be more complicated than leaving Azkaban.

"Draco will deal with that, as a payment for my services," she revealed and a light smile spread on her face.

"Had you planned all this?" Scorpius asked with suspicion.

"Did I tell Hugo about the locket?" she laughed. "No, I would have told him about all other Dark artefacts you had."

"Logically," he muttered.

"Why didn't you write to me?" Rose asked hesitantly. He finally had to know the answer to the question she had desperately longed to know.

_

* * *

Scorpius Apparated beside the Malfoy Manor and walked home. He tried to remove a satisfied smile from his face in case if someone was still awake. He quietly slipped inside and was heading towards the stairs when Draco suddenly emerged before him. _

"_Where were you?" Draco asked strictly and folded his arms across his chest. _

"_Out with friends," Scorpius lied. _

"_Don't lie to me!" Draco hissed. "I know that you were with that filth!" _

"_Don't call her that!" Scorpius yelled. "I will meet her no matter what you think about it!" _

"_Enough!" Draco yelled in furiously. "You are a Malfoy, a pureblood, from a noble family. I will not let my son to be with an unworthy girl. You have no sense of moral. Do you understand what you are doing to your family name by your actions? You will marry Dorinda as soon as we can arrange it."_

"_I will not!" Scorpius yelled into his father's face._

_Draco squinted and thought for a moment. "I will kill the Weasley if you get near her again," Draco threatened and a sinister grin crossed his face. _

_Scorpius laughed out loud. "You could not kill Dumbledore and you will not kill Rose. You can't threaten me with these empty words."_

"_I am not a child anymore, and you have got no clue what I am capable of. Moreover, I have men for dirty jobs. I don't want to get blood on my hands. Azkaban is not the most homely place." Draco said. Scorpius was looking at him spitefully and surely was not convinced. "Do you want to test it, Scorpius? I don't mind making a little experiment." Draco took out his wand, rubbed it gently and smirked._

"_I don't believe you, father," Scorpius said and went to his room, ignoring Draco's angry yells. _

_Scorpius slept that night peacefully knowing that he would not have to hide his love for Rose anymore. A dreadful surprise awaited him in the morning when he found his dog dead._

"_Take it as a warning," Draco told him. _

* * *

"I was afraid for your safety," Scorpius revealed.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore. Draco turned out to be rather fond of his granddaughter. They are waiting for us on the shore," Rose said and called the guard to unlock Scorpius's cell.

"Take my hand," Rose said and led him out of Azkaban.

Scorpius did not know what would come next, but he was sure only of one thing - anything that was to come would be better than what had been.


End file.
